Posted: Mon, 7 Mar 2011 12:00 AM - 8,269 Readers

By: John Kelso

Some of the neighbors at the Steiner Ranch development west of town off RM 620 are abuzz about an unknown character they call "the Rude Jogger."

The first time the allegedly testy runner ran afoul of residents occurred about three weeks ago, said Monique Palmer. The Steiner Ranch stay-at-home mother says she was "plowed into" by the Rude Jogger while walking on the sidewalk with a friend on Quinlan Park Road, a main thoroughfare at Steiner Ranch and a popular walking and running route.

"Out of nowhere I was hit on my arm by somebody and I had no idea who it was," Monique recalled. "I said to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, who was that?' I turned around and she was 20 or 30 feet away from me and she yelled, ‘If you would move your fat ass off the sidewalk there would be enough room for both of us.'

"I'm from LA; I've never been hit like that," Monique added. The late Buck Steiner, the bootmaker and the Steiner in Steiner Ranch back when it was a real ranch, wouldn't have worried about the Rude Jogger — he would have let a bull out to chase her up the street.

About an hour later, Monique said, she saw the Rude Jogger across the road. "She puffs out her arms, to show the silhouette of a fat person with her arms — like, ‘Hey, fatso.' "

Another Steiner Ranch running disturbance, again on Quinlan Park Road, went down about two weeks back, said Janis Goodman, who has lived at Steiner Ranch for 15 years.

She started up a Rude Jogger-issue Facebook group called Fatsos Unite Now (FUN). "I call my members ‘Fatties,' " she said. She says the group has about 45 "Fatties."

In the latest known incident, Janis said, two women she knows were jogging. "All of a sudden this lady came out of nowhere," Janis said. "And she bumped one of the ladies, and she stuck her finger in her face and yelled, ‘ONE JOGGER PER LANE.' "

Speaking of fingers, nobody can put a finger on the identity of the Rude Jogger, although there is speculation she's a real estate agent. Not knowing the Rude Jogger "is really unusual for Steiner Ranch," Monique said. "Everybody knows everybody." Or not.

Janis has tried to ferret out the Rude Jogger's identity through her Facebook group. So far, no luck, though she does have a description.

"I've heard 40 or 50, petite, kind of small build, blonde, seemingly very fit in appearance." And snarly.

So whaddya do about the Rude Jogger?

"Some suggestions (on Facebook) about how to find her were: skipping three abreast down the sidewalk holding hands Red Rover-style to snag her or carrying a water gun filled with red Kool-Aid so that she will be marked like dirty money if she goes off," Janis said.

*  Story Contributed by: John Kelso